Meow ah! Lou Qingyun sure was like a cockroach. She had thought he was dead several times already, yet he survived!
Tang Doudou was rather happy to hear Lou Qingyun’s voice. The two were pretty much comrades that had gone through life or death trials and tribulations together. When she found out he wasn’t dead, she was delighted and hastily ran towards the voice.
“I thought you had already died. Your vitality sure is strong!” Tang Doudou exclaimed as she ran.
These words probably injured Lou Qingyun a little because he replied gloomily, “No better, no worse (than you)…”
However, he was heavily injured and so his words were completely weak. Tang Doudou laughed at him. “Who’s no better, no worse with you? I’m not injured at all. From the sound of your voice, even if you’re not dead, aren’t you pretty close?”
Lou Qingyun choked from her words and didn’t know what to say.
Tang Doudou didn’t waste time and reached Lou Qingyun in a few steps. As she took in his miserable appearance, she felt complete pity for him.
His clothes had been worn out to shreds and exposed the bruised skin under. There were even little Black Demonic Nightcrawlers hanging off some areas. Upon seeing this, Tang Doudou picked up some of the rice straw that was burning to the side and moved it towards those Black Demonic Nightcrawlers.
Lou Qingyun immediately opened his eyes and glowered at her. “What are you planning to do!?”
“If you don’t get rid of these Black Demonic Nightcrawlers, you’ll die!” Tang Doudou lifted the burning rice straw in her hand and moved it towards the Black Demonic Nightcrawler. She saw the bug withdraw backwards and exclaimed happily, “I think these little things are afraid of fire. Endure the pain a little, I’ll get them out. Rest for a while, then we can leave.”
“You’re going to save me?” Lou Qingyun looked at her, astonished. It was to the point that he didn’t even notice when Tang Doudou pressed the fire against his skin. “Even if you get rid of the Black Demonic Nightcrawlers, I still can’t move. If you leave me, you’ll definitely be able to get out. But if you bring me along, that won’t be certain.”
“Haa, even you’re saying that it’s not certain. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind.”
Tang Doudou started thinking, but her hands continued to move. In reality, she wasn’t that good-hearted. When she heard Lou Qingyun say that he couldn’t move, she also hesitated a little. However, on second thought, if she really watched with her own eyes as another living person died, especially if it was because she didn’t extend a hand to help, she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly for the rest of her life.
When Lou Qingyun heard what she said, he was so moved he couldn’t even speak. Just as he was about to say some words of gratitude, he heard Tang Doudou continue. “Of course, the remuneration can’t be left out. An ordinary antique lamp already costs five thousand taels, so a person as big as you should probably be worth several ten thousand taels right? However, looking upon the fact that we’ve gone through trials and tribulations together, I’ll give you an appropriate discount when the time comes…”
“Several ten thousands? Why don’t you just rob me!?” Lou Qingyun was left speechless. He had actually thought her kindness had flared up. Turns out it was for the sake of money!
“The risk in robbing is too great, it’s not a suitable choice for people as civilized as me. Saving people is still better. Not only can you earn money, you can also boost your reputation.” As Tang Doudou chattered, she switched through several stalks of rice straws. Finally, she managed to get all the bugs off Lou Qingyun’s body. After stamping them to death, she lifted her head and asked Lou Qingyun, “What do you think about this deal? Isn’t it worthwhile? A couple ten thousand taels to trade for one human life!”
“You, this, you’re taking advantage of the fire to loot a burning house!” Lou Qingyun exclaimed weakly.
“That’s right ah, I am taking advantage of the fire to loot a burning house. Who asked God to have me take a wifey but not even possess the money to arrange the wedding matters? Aiy…” Tang Doudou sighed. “Alright, I’ve gotten all the bugs off for you. As for that deal, it just depends on you!”
Only then did Lou Qingyun notice that all the bugs on his arm had been gotten rid of. Quite a few black coal marks were left on his arm and there was even the scent of roasted meat. When he smelled that, Lou Qingyun became completely speechless. Did she directly roast the bugs along with his flesh!?
Luckily, he had long been hurt so bad that his senses had gone completely numb. Otherwise, he definitely would have fainted from the pain.
“You’re really going to marry Baili Yu?”
Wasn’t she acting pretty unwilling earlier on the streets?
“Since he’s sent himself to my door, isn’t it a waste to turn him out? Not to mention, since he’s becoming my bride, he has to give me a dowry, right?”
“Ahem, you sure are direct.” Lou Qingyun was speechless.
Tang Doudou rolled her eyes. Direct? As if! She just has no other alternatives ah!
Making it so that everyone thought she was doing it for the sake of Baili Yu’s money was also a good choice. It was perfect for covering up the fact that she had been poisoned by the Disseminating Tassel Fragrance…
“Lou Qingyun, yes or no? Give some response ah!” Upon seeing that Lou Qingyun wasn’t responding, Tang Doudou started urging him. The surrounding fire was growing bigger and bigger. Earlier the ground was too damp and so the fire wasn’t as strong, but after burning for a while, the heat had dried out a lot of the rice straw. If this continued on, this place was going to turn into a sea of flames.
Lou Qingyun gritted his teeth and said with a rather helpless tone, “Then I’ll have to trouble Alliance Head Li to bring me out.”
This is having a clear view of things! Tang Doudou smiled. In reality, even if he didn’t agree to it, she still would have brought him out. However, wouldn’t it be stupid not to seize a benefit when it’s laid out for you?
However, Lou Qingyun’s words were a little off ah!
Tang Doudou laughed ‘hehe’, then elbowed Lou Qingyun a little. “Then, how are we supposed to get up?”
Lou Qingyun blinked several times as he looked at her. When he saw that there wasn’t the slightest trace of insincerity in those sparkling eyes, he was completely speechless.
“You…”
“Hehe, doesn’t this require big Young Master Lou’s resourcefulness? You’ll come up with the idea and I’ll come up with the strength. Isn’t that a great combination?”
“How much money is Alliance Head Li prepared to pay for my idea?”
“Aiyah, don’t worry, don’t worry. Once we get out, this Alliance Head will definitely calculate it fairly. Lou gongzi will definitely be treated fairly! Right now, you had better think of an idea quick. Any longer and we’ll become roasted meat.”
What else could Lou Qingyun say?
It was still Lou Qingyun’s brain that worked better. He talked and explained a bunch of stuff regarding mechanisms, then instructed Tang Doudou to carry him and head towards the pile of broken iron chains next to the large hole.
The first step was to carry a big man so Tang Doudou thought it would take a lot of energy. However, after she lifted him up on her back, she realized that it wasn’t that hard. Looks like this was a benefit of Li Xueyi’s valiant constitution along with the concentrated amount of inner strength. In a short while, she made it from one end of the palace to the other end.
This place was precisely the place Xin Yue used to be in. Due to the fact that her entire body had exploded from the force of one palm strike from Tang Doudou, all her iron chains had shattered into debris as well. Because of this, the area Tang Doudou was currently walking on was filled with blood-and-flesh-covered iron chain pieces. The wretched sight was so terrible the two didn’t dare to lower their heads to look.
Lou Qingyun recalled the back figure he saw before he fainted and looked pensively at the back of Tang Doudou’s head for a long while, his eyes filled with a mysterious deep light.
“It’s here, right?” Tang Doudou looked around. “You said this place had a switch so why did you want us to go out from the ceiling earlier?”
“With Xin Yue here, even if I knew there was a switch, I couldn’t risk coming over. That’s why I could only think of some other idea…” Lou Qingyun explained.
Tang Doudou nodded and said in approval, “You’re rather smart ah!”
This is something that anything human would be able to think of, alright?
Lou Qingyun didn’t even know how many times he had been made speechless today. Not bothering to reply to her imbecile-like question, he patted Tang Doudou’s shoulder so that she would let him down.
Tang Doudou looked up and around, then asked him, “You sure you want to go down?”
Upon hearing this, Lou Qingyun also looked at the floor, then decisively declined. “I’ll stay above.”
It was just that Tang Doudou’s figure was too delicate and small, both her waist and her shoulders seemed very frail. When she walked, she kept swaying and wobbling as if she was about to trip and fall so he kept worrying about crushing her. That was why Lou Qingyun wanted to get down and see if he could walk on his own. However, the ground was covered with blood ah, flesh ah, and even some Black Demonic Nightcrawlers that haven’t been burned to death yet. Thus he decided it would be better for him to behave and stay on her back.
How could Tang Doudou know that he had all those worries? As she felt the surrounding temperature rise, she hastily asked, “Where’s the switch?”
“On the pillar over there. Look and see if there’s any area that’s not like the rest!”
After hearing this, Tang Doudou rushed over to the pillar.
The stone pillar was very large and its diameter was about the length of three people’s outstretched arms. Some strange decorative four-legged beasts were engraved on it, however, it had been too long so they were all faded. The entire pillar was so mottled and the designs so disconnected that it was impossible to make out with the naked eye what part was different.
“If you can’t see, try using your hand to feel around for it,” Lou Qingyun said.
“Then I’ll put you to the side first?” Although it didn’t take a lot of energy for her to carry him this way, Lou Qingyun’s body weight and height were still there. After walking for awhile, she felt a little tired. While she could still carry him with both hands, she felt that she probably wouldn’t be able to with one hand.
Lou Qingyun thought she was tired so he quickly replied, “Alright, you can put me down. Just don’t put me on those bugs.”
Tang Doudou lowered her head and looked for a place that was a little cleaner. Then she wanted to put Lou Qingyun down, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t crouch down. After struggling for a while, she just dropped Lou Qingyun onto the ground as if he were a sack. The second person didn’t manage to react in time and fell so hard he grimaced. “Are you trying to make me fall to my death?”
“Ahem, sorry, my mistake, my mistake…” Tang Doudou patted her aching arms. Without paying attention to Lou Qingyun, she headed to feel that pillar. She felt around the entire pillar in order, yet she couldn’t feel anything out of the ordinary.
She turned back to ask Lou Qingyun. “That’s not right ah, how come there isn’t a switch?”
“Feel it more closely. The switch won’t be that conspicuous so if you don’t examine it closely, you won’t be able to find it.” Lou Qingyun had watched her feel around like a little lady and spoke with a dumbfounded tone.
Tang Doudou replied ‘oh’, then turned around to continue feeling the stone pillar. This time, she slowed down and even patted a lot of the dust left over from the engravings. Finally, at a part of the ground that was engraved with something that was either a crane or a heron, Tang Doudou found a moveable rock piece. Her filthy little face turned elated. “Lou Qingyun, I’ve found it! I’ve found it!”
“Hahaha, we’re saved!”
Tang Doudou turned around, rushed towards Lou Qingyun and gave him a huge bear hug. “Haha, we can finally leave this damned place!”
Lou Qingyun turned rigid when she hugged him and a strange feeling came from his heart. However, before he had a chance to think deeply about it, Tang Doudou had released him and reached out to help him up. “Let’s go. I’ll help you over.”
“Not yet, don’t be hasty.” Lou Qingyun slapped away her hand. “You should go test it out first to see if it’s the switch we need.”
“Huh?”
“There’s probably quite a lot of switches in this huge palace. I’m worried that it’s not the one we’re looking for. If that’s the case, when the time comes it’ll be troublesome.” Seeing that Tang Doudou seemed confused, Lou Qingyun said this in explanation.
“Wha, doesn’t that mean that if this isn’t the exit switch, we still have to keep looking?”
“Pretty much. There’s no time to lose, Alliance Head Li should hurry to it.”
Hell, she celebrated a little too early. Tang Doudou was annoyed as she walked towards that pillar again. “Will this switch be dangerous?”
As she spoke, her hand paused on that stone piece. However, she didn’t hear Lou Qingyun’s reply so she turned back curiously. Unexpectedly, Lou Qingyun had stood up at some unknown time. He was supporting himself with one hand on the wall and smiling sinisterly.
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